mikeszekely

Okay, call me a rebel if you must, but I actually didn't much care for 08th MS Team. It added nothing but crappy mecha to the One Year War. The early battles that showed planetside MS combat as something like tank warfare was cool, but the director and the show never really follows through on that. Not to mention that the characters all sucked to high heaven, save that one Gouf pilot... While we're at it, 0083 had some great mecha and mecha action, but as a story, is really almost better skipped. It's suppose to bridge some of the gap between Gundam and Z Gundam, like how Anaheim was playing both sides and the formation of the Titans, but actually create a lot more plot holes than it filled. Of the OVAs, the only one I can really reccomend is 0080. As short as it is, you really get to know the characters, and it's a very human story. Fans of flash over substance need not apply. For the best UC Gundam experience, watch Gundam (I prefer TV, but the subtitles are horrid and the movies are more readily available), then Z Gundam (which is, in my opinion, the best of the Gundam series), then Gundam ZZ (it starts off like a kick in the nuts, especially after Z Gundam, but stick with it, as it eventually gets back on track and gets almost as good as Z Gundam near the end), then watch Char's Counterattack for the conclusion. F-91 was mediocre and would have worked better if they actually did make the planned series to follow, and V Gundam, despite being set in the UC universe, plays out more like an AU Gundam (and in my opinion, SEED and Gundam X are both better than V, so...). A G-Saviour is just crap.

Either someone at that forum outright lied to you, or they gave you some other dialect besides the "official" Mandarin Chinese. "Happy new year" should be "Xin nian quai le!" so they had the chinese one wrong ? as for the original statement written "Chu Shen Tan" can any of you read what it actually says? does it say something vastly different? if so what does it say? Well, when people say "Chinese" and they're not talking Mandarin, they usually mean Cantonese, the dialect from the Guandong Province, and also the dialect they use in Hong Kong (which might be why the West picked it up as Chinese instead of the more official Mandarin... importation of kung fu movies). I don't know anything else about Cantonese, though, so I'm just guessing. I suspect Graham would know better. Oh, and as for the whole "Xin nian quai le," that's "Xin nian," which is "New Year," and "kuai le," which I guess doesn't translate directly, but implies that the speaker is wishing you something happy. If you replace "Xin nian" with "Sheng ri" (birthday), you'd get the Chinese for "Happy Birthday." My wife (she's from Beijing) reminds me that "Xin nian quai le" is a relatively modern and trendy phrase in China... they started using it because the West says "Happy New Year." More traditional New Year phrases in Chinese would be "Guo nian hao," which means something like "Good passing of the year," and "Gong xi fa cai" which is something like "Congratulations and good fortune." *EDITED AFTERTHOUGHT* "Chu shen tan" might still be Mandarin, but I don't recognize it because of the romanization. Chinese doesn't romanize nicely the way Japanese does... there have been many attempts by many people to come up with systems. I forget which ones are which of the older ones, like the one they usually use in Taiwan (where "gong xi fa cai" would be "gong hsi fa tsai"), but the Chinese government eventually came up with their own, called Pinyin, which sort of became the most accepted way to romanize Mandarin Chinese. All mainland born Chinese and most modern Chinese students (myself included) recognize Pinyin, but as previously mentioned, Taiwanese and older students of Chinese may use one of the older systems. Problem is, my Chinese isn't good enough that I'd recognize Mandarin that isn't written in Pinyin.

Not much to debate there... from what I read, China was trying to develop the Jian-10 by starting with a single F-16 provided by Pakistan, with the goal of being comparable in performance to the Mirage 2000's in Taiwan's air force, so for starters, we're already talking about a plane being built to be on par with the previous generation of fighters instead of more modern ones. Also, China apparently lacks the technology to build the appropriate engines, avionics, and FCS for the J-10, and would have had to get the FCS and avionics from Israel and the engines from Russia... so China went ahead and bought some Su-27's instead. The Su-27 looks to be more capable than the J-10 even with the same engine, so in all likelihood, China will abandon the J-10 entirely.

Either someone at that forum outright lied to you, or they gave you some other dialect besides the "official" Mandarin Chinese. "Happy new year" should be "Xin nian quai le!"

Hey, WJ, we (or at least I) hope you're not really discouraged by the reaction you're getting. I know you work REALLY hard and put a lot of time into creating the NMMA and Nanashi's, and providing your fellow fans with access to rare pics and info. It definately sucks to have lamers and leechers jack your work and claim it as their own. There are a lot of us, mostly regulars here, who are NOT making websites or redistrubuiting your scans, though. I know I like keeping detailed mechanical info for both Gundam and Macross handy, and it's not always convenient to get online to check your site, here, the Macross Compendium, MAHQ.net, etc. And, as was previously mentioned, your methods for protecting your scans were an inconvenience to some of us who just wanted to keep their own copy around for their own private use, not to redistribute, while the redistributers could still jack then if they really wanted to anyway. Anyway, again, I really hope you're not taking this as discouragement. I think the changes you're making will be for the better, and I know I really appreciate the info and pics you've shared with us over the last few years here at MW, and I really hope you'll continue and get your site up and running 100%. Just my two cents.

As far as I know, it's not out in the US, and it's fairly new in Japan, although the story is practically begging for a US release. Well, my Xbox isn't modded, so I'm not going to import it, but I'd definately check it out if it has a local release. In the meantime, I do intend to import Another Century's Era (PS2), which is made by the same company.

Aero Elite is in the same series as the Aero Wings/Aero Dancing series that was on Dreamcast. From what I've heard, it's supposed to be slightly more realistic than Ace Combat, but a lot less fun. And to tell the truth, I thought VF-X2 was better than the PS2 Macross game. I don't think that Sega AM2 has figured out that they're layout for the thrust and yaw controls is backward from everyone else's yet, and the air/space levels boiled down to sweeping back and forth, and shooting as much as you could in each pass. If Aero Elite is that dull, I don't think it'd hold my interest for long. Okay, does anyone want to try to argue that Lethal Skies or Top Gun: Combat Zones is better than Ace Combat? The only other air combat game I've heard of that's gotten any kind of positive press is Energy Air Force, and that's import only.

Airforce Delta Storm for Xbox still smokes every Ace Combat. Graphics, gameplay, cool planes, the game's got it all. Graphics, yes. Gameplay, no. Cool planes... I'd say that's up in the air. I still had mostly foreign fighters I'd never heard of like the J-7, and hadn't even unlocked an F-14 before I quit playing.

What is the most lucrative fighter program for the US defence industry? Its certainly not the f-22, it was the F-16 because of its massive foreign sales. When you have foreign sales your return is far more than if you build a fighter for yourself because you don't pay O&M costs. The F-35 will become the next F-16... everybody is buying into it. Moreover over 20% of its development costs have been paid for by other countries, so its not that large a drain on the Military budget. If you kill the F-35 the development of the US military aircraft industry will be dead. You think that there are problems now with not enough f-22s, there will not be compeditive companies available 10 years down the line to design a new fighter when the real threat appears. The F-35 is also supposed to relatively cheap, with more off-the-shelf electronics componenets, easier access to areas that require frequent maintainance, and a lower R&D cost since it borrows some R&D for the Raptor program. Add that to the fact that there are supposedly a ton already on order for the USAF, the Marines, the Navy, and Britain's Royal Navy, with a lot of expressed interest from other countries as a potential replacement for their F-16s. At this point, it's more or less impossible to can the F-35... but I think it's just stupid to can the Raptor. The R&D costs can never be recovered, and the fewer bought, the higher the per-unit cost, not to mention that US military forces will be relying on the 30-year old F-15 or Navy Super Hornets for air superiority, which as David already mentioned, isn't going to work when other countries are buying Eurofighters, Rafales, Gripens, and Super Flankers. Personally, I think the DoD should try to negotiate a better deal with Lockheed (on account of how many JSF's will be sold, perhaps by easing the export restrictions on the F-35), and try to come up with more money by nixing pet projects or privatizing NASA, and get the number of F-22's back up near 500.

Not a lot you can do about where the cockpit's place on a plane, I suppose, but couldn't they have at least come up with a new FCS and a new layout for the HOTAS and insturments that would have improved the F-14D or Tomcat 21's flyability? The F-22 (as oppossed to the YF-22) seems to have a good cockpit placement far enough forward and up high enought that I think Raptor pilots ought to have a good view. Not sure about the HOTAS, cockpit layout, or FCS, though, having never been in or flown one myself. Without starting a debate over whether or not the YF-22 should have rightfully beaten out the YF-23 to be the Airforce's new fighter, the YF-23 strikes me as being too large to make a good naval plane. The F-22 seems to have a slightly narrower fuselage, and while a joint like the F/A-18's or F-35C's to fold up the wings would have helped with the YF-23's massive wings, the F-22N's VG wing seems like a better idea. I just can't image how a VG wing would have worked on a YF-23 without more drastic changes than the F-22 would have had to have gone through. Again, that's just my thought. IMHO, in a perfect world, the USAF could have found a use for both the F-22 and the YF-23, they'd buy a lot more of both than they seem to be planning to buy, and they'd be getting them into service a lot faster (by the time the 22 actually does enter service, they'll need a replacement for it!), and the Navy would have got the VG F-22 to replace the Tomcat.

I married a Chinese girl. It was kind of rough for awhile... I'd call her to see if it was cool with her before I bought something, she'd say "No, we don't need it" then come home with a bag of new shoes. And she actually tried to get me to stop buying videogames (first and foremost, I'm a hardcore gamer). Eventually, I just stopped asking her if it was cool with her if I bought stuff. I mean, it's not like she asked me. I did cut back to picking about only about two or so games a month, because realistically I was spending a bit on them. But for the most part, she learned that I don't tell her what to do or what to buy (or not buy). As long as I'm not going nuts and spending too much on games or other things and being reasonable, she can't really tell me what I can and can't do either. you got it easy. A few couples I know, the women started out nice and all, as soon as they are married... one of these girl were pulling in 170+k a year (which was more than her husband), quited her business right there to become a full time shopper a few years back, wouldn't drive anything smaller than a BMW 7, and spend at least 4k on clothes every month, wanted a bigger house in the most expensive part of town, I still hear her husband complain every once in a while. And two other couples were getting into things they can have and having food on the table at the same time. But then most women are not like this. p.s. I'm not picking on Asian women, just where I live does not have a large Asian community, words get around. Well, if my wife spent $4000 a month on clothes without quitting her job, we'd have negative numbers, and that's without spending money on things like rent, food, etc. And if she quit her job to be a pro shopper... well, she wouldn't get very far on a retailer's salary! As for the BMW thing... well, I'm kind of a car guy myself (although some people find it odd that my maker of choice is Mitsubishi). So naturally, in a perfect world, I'd want the car I want (and unless they start making newer ones again, that'd be a '99 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 Twin Turbo), and I'd want my wife to have the car she wants. It's just not a Bimmer. Almost as bad, though... right now she's into the Lexus SC 430 Convertible. But, fact is, we can't afford to restore a car, or to buy a nice luxury car. So for now, I'm keeping my '02 Mitsubishi Mirage... although we are probably going to sell her '98 Oldsmobile Intrigue before it gives us anymore grief (just in 2004, we had to replace a $400 sensor [and apparently not the right one, since the dash lights still didn't go off], a pulley and some cables that connect the steering together, and the starter... heaven help me if I ever buy another American car), and look at maybe getting a Corolla or something.

One of the biggest things that Chunx said that I'd never really thought about is how "user-friendly" the cockpit and HOTAS are. With little or no flight experience ourselves, we're used to just looking at the numbers... numbers that gave the F-14D or Tomcat 21 the edge over the Super Hornet in every case except maintainance. But if the Super Hornet is easier to fly, has a radar that's easier to read, etc, that can offset a lot of fighter's shortcomings. Well, I'm still not sure if I would agree that the Super Hornet really is the bird to replace the Tomcat... but Chunx' opinion is definately something to consider. And in any case, we do see perfectly eye-to-eye on one thing: if money weren't the object that it is in today's military, I also would have liked to see the VG wing F-22N replace the Tomcat.

Or, they could let it be branching. I mean whats to say you were a Feddie who became a Titan and then later a Neo Zeon? Or, an Ex-Zeon who got fed up with how the Titans were treating people and joins the AEUG. That'd be pretty cool. Ooh, that's a good idea. Perhaps they could also create mulitple endings for the different branching paths, with some of the endings being kind of "what if?" endings... like "What if Zeon won the One Year War?"\ Exacyly what I was thinking. Though I doubt it will happen, it's still good to dream! True story... when I was in 9th grade, my two favorite things were comic books and videogames. Me and my one friend thought it'd be cool if there was a fighting game with the X-Men, so he wrote a letter to Marvel, and I wrote a letter to Capcom. Now, it was probably just a coincidence, and we never did get reply... but about a year later, X-Men: Children of the Atom started showing up in arcades. Maybe we should write a letter, translate it to Japanese, then send it to Bandai Japan and Capcom Japan...

I married a Chinese girl. It was kind of rough for awhile... I'd call her to see if it was cool with her before I bought something, she'd say "No, we don't need it" then come home with a bag of new shoes. And she actually tried to get me to stop buying videogames (first and foremost, I'm a hardcore gamer). Eventually, I just stopped asking her if it was cool with her if I bought stuff. I mean, it's not like she asked me. I did cut back to picking about only about two or so games a month, because realistically I was spending a bit on them. But for the most part, she learned that I don't tell her what to do or what to buy (or not buy). As long as I'm not going nuts and spending too much on games or other things and being reasonable, she can't really tell me what I can and can't do either.

Or, they could let it be branching. I mean whats to say you were a Feddie who became a Titan and then later a Neo Zeon? Or, an Ex-Zeon who got fed up with how the Titans were treating people and joins the AEUG. That'd be pretty cool. Ooh, that's a good idea. Perhaps they could also create mulitple endings for the different branching paths, with some of the endings being kind of "what if?" endings... like "What if Zeon won the One Year War?"\

Why don't Bandai and Capcom just cut to the chase already? One Vs. game. Cram different arcade missions in. Then for campaign mode, have it begin in 0079 during the One Year War. Then do missions that stretch all the way through the end of 0093 at the end of Char's Counterattack. Maybe have players create a pilot at the beginning, then they could follow their pilot through the various conflicts. We'll say that if you start as a Federation pilot, you'd stay with them until after 0083, then you'd hook up with the AEUG, and finally Londo Bell. If you start as a Zeon pilot, you'd eventually hook up with the Cima Garahau long enough to fight alongside the Delaz Fleet in Operation Stardust, but eventually sell out to the Federation so that you could play as the Titans. Near the end of the Gryps War, though, you'd defect to the Axis Zeons, and then later Char's Neo Zeon.

Aw, man... I should have asked for one of those for Christmas...

In other words, it's like they took AEUG vs Titans, added a few mobile suits, jacked the Z Gundam music, put in all of the crappy first Gundam music, and turned it back into yet another One Year War game. Yeah, we REALLY needed another one of those. Forget it. I'm taking a pass unless I find a used copy at Starland, or until they just come out with Gundam ZZ: AEUG vs. Neo Zeon.

The game is out in Japan now, and I could import it if I wanted to... but again, I already have AEUG vs. Titans. Is it worth $60+ shipping to import Gundam Vs. Z Gundam? Are the few additional Z Gundam mobile suits worth it (especially since I heard they made the Gaplant a lot slower)? Was it worth it to add the ZZ Gundam? Did they bother to add any other Gundam ZZ mobile suits for the Axis missions, like the Gaza-C or the Zaku III? How different is it really from AEUG vs. Titans? At the moment, I'm seriously tempted to import it, but I'm restrained with the thought that it might just be an upgrade of AEUG vs. Titans, and that it might come out States-side anyway.

What's wrong with him taking credit for his own art work? He's not claiming the works in Macross Design Works. Just his own drawings, which were on the net before Design Works went to the printers. The only reason for getting lawyers involved would be for Kawamori, SN, and BW to by the designs for a later production as they're very good. That comment was in reference to mikeszekely saying that the images by greg lane were done by kawamori. it was sarcasm. Okay, before we continue this argument, let me stress that I am very much aware of the totally fan-created design for the VAB-2. They are the black and white images that hellohikaru posted at the beginning of this thread. I do not know the name of the fellow who drew those pictures, and if he is in fact Greg Lane, and if those images were the ones linked to at the bottom of this page (the links are now dead), then that would explain much of the confusion. I'm not trying to claim that Kawamori drew those pictures. I am, however, stating that the COLOR pics found on the same page are most definately Kawamori's. The color pictures are on page 24 of the Macross Design Works book, at the end of the "Color Works" section. The images are repeated on page 134 in the FBz-99G entry. According to the circles, the fighter was drawn in February of 94, and the Battroid in January.

*Buzzer* Wrong! The first pics in this thread are a very well-done fan design. The sketchier, color drawings in the one link ARE Kawamori. You can find those pictures in the Macross Design Works book, in the FBz-99 entry. The only fan thing about it is the assumption that it is, in fact, the VAB-2. While those sketches may have been earlier designs for the VAB-2 and inspiration for the FBz-99, there is nothing to indicate that they are, in fact, the finalized design of the VAB-2. then kawamori's lawyers should be told about this greg lane fellow who takes credit for those drawings, and to whome, credit is given on that website in question (http://unsd.macrossroleplay.org/vab-2.html) "Images provided by Greg Lane" "Provided by" could simply mean that Mr. Lane scanned the images from the Design Works book, then gave the scans to Mr. Henwood.

If my wife ever told me she was worried about what her coworkers thought of me, I'd make damn sure to be as big an embarrassment as possible when I met them. I mean, I just don't get how she can ask something like that of you. It's like "you're an embarrassment, so change who you fundamentally are." You gotta lay down the law, man, before you find yourself without any toys and miserable.

Not necessarily, I watched CCA for the first time before I saw Zeta and I understood it fine. I'd recommend pciking up the original movie trilogy and CCA. Why bother skipping the best, though? CCA wasn't even that exciting. I reccomend the original TV MS Gundam and Z Gundam.

After you've wasted all that time transforming, then sure, it's easier to move an arm than the entire ship. But you could have probably moved the entire ship and got off one or two shots for all the time it takes to transform the damn thing. The only thing I can think of, and this is because it always seems like they don't start charging the gun until after transformation, is that perhaps the charged energies inside the gun are too hot, creates some sort of magnetic/electrical interference, or in some other way interferes with or damages the rest of the ship. That would necessitate the need to transform so that the gun could be held away from the rest of the ship.

*Buzzer* Wrong! The first pics in this thread are a very well-done fan design. The sketchier, color drawings in the one link ARE Kawamori. You can find those pictures in the Macross Design Works book, in the FBz-99 entry. The only fan thing about it is the assumption that it is, in fact, the VAB-2. While those sketches may have been earlier designs for the VAB-2 and inspiration for the FBz-99, there is nothing to indicate that they are, in fact, the finalized design of the VAB-2.